Brazil contributes 21% of Santander upbeat profit growth

Spain’s biggest bank and Europe’s second-biggest by market capitalization announced on Thursday that its first quarter net profit rose 5.7%,  thanks mainly to the work of the Banco Santander S/A branches in Brazil. A driver behind the upbeat results was higher-than-expected net interest income, which rose to 7.1 billion euros against 6.04 billion euros in the year-ago period, against expectations of 6.87 billion euros. The group saw growth across all its operating areas, with particular strength in Brazil, which contributed 21% of profit growth. Just behind that was the United Kingdom at 16%. The Continent as a whole provided 47%, with Spain’s contribution 24% of that.